[Help] Jobs for oldies

[Gwylan]

I got laid off a week ago, after a company 'restructuring' and I'm realising what a nightmare it is trying to find work.

I'm 68, so I guessed it wasn't going to be easy but it's pretty depressing to realise that I'm considered as someone on my last legs. I went to the Job Centre, just to get the lie of the land, and the bloke there said "All our jobs are for people of working age". Mate, I was working a couple of days ago!

Surely, there must be some opportunity for people who want to work. I'm pretty fit - I'm a rugby ref and coach at weekends - and healthy (I've just had a regular check-up and all the indicators are good). I have a long work record, mainly as journalist but in PR too; won lots of awards, managed small teams and large ones and earned enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm not looking for a high-paying job, just something to keep me ticking over as I'm not ready to put my feet up. Yet, it seems like an impossible dream. Anyone got any ideas where I could find work?

 

[Hovegull]

Supermarkets will be a good bet, always have vacancies and if you have a clean driving licence they are always looking for drivers for the online shopping delivery.

 

[Gwylan]

Supermarkets will be a good bet, always have vacancies and if you have a clean driving licence they are always looking for drivers for the online shopping delivery.

I don't have a driving licence so that's not a possibility. I got swiftly rejected by Aldi but have applied to Asda as well. I don't think supermarkets are that good a bet any more; there a lot of students happy to do zero-hour contracts

 

[MTSeagulls]

I moved to Ireland at 52 to look after my sick father.
I gave up a very well paid job as the accountant at a famous gentlemens club in the St James area of London.
Trying to get a new job there was virtually impossible, most applications were just ignored without any kind of response.
I ended up taking a bookkeeping job for a small, family run, construction company in Cork on 20% of the wages I earned in London.
Ageism is a real thing sadly.

 

[Yes Chef]

Sorry about your news.

There's a shortage of staff in hospitality, so if you don't mind pulling a few pints or washing up there could be something at one of your local pubs/restaurants?

Long, unsociable hours and mediocre wages understandably might put you off

 

[Hovegull]

I don't have a driving licence so that's not a possibility. I got swiftly rejected by Aldi but have applied to Asda as well. I don't think supermarkets are that good a bet any more; there a lot of students happy to do zero-hour contracts

Aldi and Lidl are difficult to get in to, as they employee so few staff members (to make the model work) and it’s also not considered to have great working conditions either so probably a lucky escape.
I don’t believe any supermarket allows zero hours contracts - certainly Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons definitely don’t.
Age doesn’t really come in to it these days either. Most hiring managers will just be looking for someone who will commit to the hours, turn up on time and do the required job role.

 

[TimWatt]

I got laid off a week ago, after a company 'restructuring' and I'm realising what a nightmare it is trying to find work.

I'm 68, so I guessed it wasn't going to be easy but it's pretty depressing to realise that I'm considered as someone on my last legs. I went to the Job Centre, just to get the lie of the land, and the bloke there said "All our jobs are for people of working age". Mate, I was working a couple of days ago!

Surely, there must be some opportunity for people who want to work. I'm pretty fit - I'm a rugby ref and coach at weekends - and healthy (I've just had a regular check-up and all the indicators are good). I have a long work record, mainly as journalist but in PR too; won lots of awards, managed small teams and large ones and earned enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm not looking for a high-paying job, just something to keep me ticking over as I'm not ready to put my feet up. Yet, it seems like an impossible dream. Anyone got any ideas where I could find work?

Sounds like quite a trauma, so maybe give yourself a bit of thinking time. A bit of break perhaps. Obviously, we don't know what exactly you've been through, but considering your old employer could have offered (or you maybe taken) retirement, the situation seems like less than ideal...

Anyway, you do journalism and PR which is typically freelance between gigs - which takes very little or no capital to start up. You could exploit contacts to write about or represent whatever you wish, including combining working another job with guaranteed pay. Maybe do both and write about it?

 

[scooter1]

I got laid off a week ago, after a company 'restructuring' and I'm realising what a nightmare it is trying to find work.

I'm 68, so I guessed it wasn't going to be easy but it's pretty depressing to realise that I'm considered as someone on my last legs. I went to the Job Centre, just to get the lie of the land, and the bloke there said "All our jobs are for people of working age". Mate, I was working a couple of days ago!

Surely, there must be some opportunity for people who want to work. I'm pretty fit - I'm a rugby ref and coach at weekends - and healthy (I've just had a regular check-up and all the indicators are good). I have a long work record, mainly as journalist but in PR too; won lots of awards, managed small teams and large ones and earned enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm not looking for a high-paying job, just something to keep me ticking over as I'm not ready to put my feet up. Yet, it seems like an impossible dream. Anyone got any ideas where I could find work?

Good luck in finding something.
I’m in a similar boat, inasmuch as I’m waiting to be laid off. The company is yet to formally go into administration, but we’re closed and therefore nobody is actually working. We were paid up until the end of March, but as the new month starts all staff are in limbo. Nobody can look to start claim in any benefits, or redundancy, or owed holiday time. Staff can’t even start temp work, otherwise I think they’d then forfeit redundancy options.
Wages have not gone up in line with the cost of living over the last few years, and employers expectations of what they can get for the salaries on offer seem a little out of alignment.

 

[Papak]

The job market is really tough from what I've been reading recently.

Are you on Linkedin? At your age (no disrespect), you must have a huge network of contacts you could potentially draw on.

Other than that, DIY sheds such as B&Q have tended to take on older people who know what they are doing in this area- it all depends on your background and salary expectations as much as anything.

Good Luck!!!

 

[papachris]

I don't have a driving licence so that's not a possibility. I got swiftly rejected by Aldi but have applied to Asda as well. I don't think supermarkets are that good a bet any more; there a lot of students happy to do zero-hour contracts

I'm not that far behind you in age and consider myself 'retired' already for a few years.
Do you need the money or just something to keep you ticking over to fill a bit of your time along with some pocket money?
If the latter is the case then zero hour contract is not a bad thing. You say you don't drive but do you cycle for instance. Working for deliveroo etc gives you the flexibility to work when you feel like it. In other words you don't have to be a slave to the company, just do what you want when you want. Surely now, it's time to take control of your own life rather than having a boss/company breathing down your neck. I do something very similar to deliveroo but I live abroad now. Being able to do what I want and when I want is a wonderful thing. (I'm 63 by the way)

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I moved to Ireland at 52 to look after my sick father.
I gave up a very well paid job as the accountant at a famous gentlemens club in the St James area of London.
Trying to get a new job there was virtually impossible, most applications were just ignored without any kind of response.
I ended up taking a bookkeeping job for a small, family run, construction company in Cork on 20% of the wages I earned in London.
Ageism is a real thing sadly.

I moved back to Sussex aged 55. I worked for an agency for a few months, and did three different jobs in that time. I got employment with a charity based in Hove, and then a year later, one of the firms I had worked for as a temp, contacted me because they'd kept my email address.
They offered me a year's contract to cover a maternity leave, but then it turned into a permanent job for the next 9 years.

Have a go at something @Gwylan and it could turn into something better. There are companies/bosses who prefer maturity working for them or with them.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I got laid off a week ago, after a company 'restructuring' and I'm realising what a nightmare it is trying to find work.

I'm 68, so I guessed it wasn't going to be easy but it's pretty depressing to realise that I'm considered as someone on my last legs. I went to the Job Centre, just to get the lie of the land, and the bloke there said "All our jobs are for people of working age". Mate, I was working a couple of days ago!

Surely, there must be some opportunity for people who want to work. I'm pretty fit - I'm a rugby ref and coach at weekends - and healthy (I've just had a regular check-up and all the indicators are good). I have a long work record, mainly as journalist but in PR too; won lots of awards, managed small teams and large ones and earned enough to pay off the mortgage. I'm not looking for a high-paying job, just something to keep me ticking over as I'm not ready to put my feet up. Yet, it seems like an impossible dream. Anyone got any ideas where I could find work?

Sorry to hear your news and good luck in finding something.

As others have said, retail or hospitality maybe.

 

[Commander]

As someone on the other side of the fence running a recruitment company, I can tell you that the recruitment market has been pretty dreadful since the end of 2022. 2023 was unbelievably bad, with companies laying people off all over the place and hardly anybody was hiring. Which obviously meant we had to do the same, with big layoffs and cut backs all over the place, it was absolutely brutal. In 2024 it stabilised a bit, but literally everyone I know in the industry was living by 'survive to 25'. And a lot didn't make it. This year is still similar really, it's not horrendous, but there is no real growth in the market and companies are still being very, very careful in their hiring. The employers NI raise has made them even more cautious, and has definitely stifled growth.

I'm not really sure what the answer is to be honest, it's tough out there at the moment, and I can't see it fundamentally changing any time soon.

 

[timbha]

I think I recall you saying that you are based in/near Coldean. Is the Amex an obvious starting point? No harm in dropping their recruitment dept an email

 

[studio150]

Forget work, enjoy your pension and volunteer to keep yourself active and engaged.

 

[METALMICKY]

Passenger Assistant for children with Special Needs? This is on the presumption that you only want part time hours.

 

[Seagull58]

I think I recall you saying that you are based in/near Coldean. Is the Amex an obvious starting point? No harm in dropping their recruitment dept an email

Good idea. @Gwylan, do you have any aptitude as a set-piece coach?

 

[Professor Plum]

Sorry to hear your news. It happened to me 4 times in my career. FWIW, each time I ended up in a better place than I left though I appreciate it will be harder at your age. I’m curious about why you’re so keen to work though. I’m a year younger than you and retired in effect about 4 years ago. I’ve never been happier. I can do whatever I want whenever I want to do it (pretty much). Every day is a joy. I hated work though I tolerated it because I had to.

If you need to work for financial reasons, fair enough. Is your background in journalism no use? At a very minimum I’d be putting together an article on the struggle faced by a 68 year old who wants to work but can’t. The Daily Telegraph seems to like that sort of stuff. Advertise yourself on LinkedIn. Remember that there are people out there looking for someone just like you with your background. Your task is to find them. For retail type roles, don’t B&Q employ a lot of older people?

 

[BLOCK F]

Good luck, I hope you find something suitable.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Good idea. @Gwylan, do you have any aptitude as a set-piece coach?

This is a great idea.
My friend has sort of semi-retired.
Now working as a steward at the Amex and volunteer gardener at Herstmonceux Castle.

@Gwylan

For the purpose of the thread, I retired at 58, due to health issues.
Money isn't everything.
I keep myself busy volunteering at Maggies, allotment, walking, reading and familly stuff to keep me busy.